Chapter 8 - The Framing

Author's Note: Heartbreak warning?

~ Rivana Rita

There is nothing in the entire galaxy Anakin hate smore than dark, closed spaces and the cold. Here, he's trapped with both. Doesn't know how he'll make it out, or if. Of all the things that Anakin could've done, he never expected to end up inside a Republic prison for any reason in the galaxy, but here he is.

And there's nothing he can do about it because someone's trying to frame him for murder.

Probably, the same Jedi who thought it was an especially bright idea to blow up their Temple for no reason at all.

It reminds him of Krell.

That's predictably the moment Anakin senses another disturbance in the Force. Someone – something dark. He just wants to get out of here, Obi-Wan to come and... for everything to get better.

Not more chaos.

He hears something – is that a lightsaber igniting? – and blaster fire. Anakin pushes himself up, looking towards the door. There's a key card outside, lying on the floor. Someone left it here, and he doesn't have time to worry about that.

Someone's dying. He can feel their pain – they're clones – and Anakin knows what going out there will mean, but if something's happening, if someone's hurting them, he can't turn his back on them. They need him.

Anakin hesitates only a moment before opening the ray shield and sprinting out into the hall, but he's too late.

Five clones are lying dead on the floor, his lightsaber and comm tossed in the center of the floor.

Something about it instantly sets off alarm bells. Was someone here after his lightsaber? Or was it something – something worse? It seems more like worse, considering everything else going on. Anakin secures his comm on his wrist and takes his lightsaber, moving to the clones.

Whoever killed them was using a lightsaber, and probably the Force, too. It's – not pleasant. At all. Presumedly, the same person who killed Letta, because nothing is ever random like this. It's a Force user, or someone in league with them. And –

The sound of a door opening makes him freeze and look up.

Fox enters the room, freezing when he spots Anakin.

"No, wait!" Anakin yelps, but the clone is already racing for the controls, turning on the alarm system.

"It wasn't me!" It must sound ridiculous to Fox, because he'd have no way of knowing it wasn't Anakin, aside from his own word, but he has to –

Either his warning too late, or Fox doesn't believe him, and he sets off the alarm. "The Jedi prisoner has escaped," he calls over the comm system.

They're not going to listen to him. They won't believe it no matter how many times Anakin says it wasn't him, even if they all know he would never do something like this.

He can't stay here. Not – he needs to find who's responsible for this, and Anakin isn't really thinking when he just runs.

Panic is clawing its way up inside his chest, and he shouldn't do this, but Anakin has no idea what else to do.

He genuinely thought it couldn't get worse.

And then, he runs into a hall where three more clones are on the floor, with varying lightsaber wounds, all fatal. "Force," Anakin breathes, staring in wide-eyed horror at their bodies.

Someone is hurting them, and –

He has no idea who, but someone is trying to frame him. Doesn't have time to think about anything past that before Fox starts shooting at him. Live rounds.

He ducks around the corner, heart pounding. He's been in tense situations more times than he can count – it's an intrinsic part of his being, as is the helplessness of this, but he has never felt so lost before.

He doesn't know what to do, and he doesn't have time to rationalize his way through literally anything. There's only one choice ahead – keep running. Which he does.

Doesn't stop until he hears his master's voice. "Anakin, wait."

He skids to a stop, bracing himself on the wall, panting. "Master?" Anakin calls back. If Obi-Wan is here, maybe something will make sense, and he'll figure out what to do. He doesn't – know what'll happen to him.

"You need to stop running and explain what happened."

As if. "I'm being set up," he answers, "Someone attacked the clones. They were gone before I got there. I – I don't know what's happening." It sounds too convenient, even to himself, but it's the truth, and he doesn't know what to do.

"I suspected as much," Obi-Wan says, voice a little quieter, then nothing.

"Master, what do I do?" Anakin asks helplessly. He's scared, and it feels stupid to be so scared. Maybe it's not, but he – he's a Jedi padawan, and a commander. He's fine. It's the clones who aren't, but this wasn't him so what –

"We need to find who's really behind all this."

"And no one will be searching if I'm here." He doesn't want to do this, because staying would be so much easier, but it's just that. It'd be easier. The Republic would just blame him and leave it at that, not looking deeper. The Council might, but – he doesn't want to push it. It'd be easiest, the best guarantee of a deeper investigation if he removed himself from the equation entirely. He knows what he needs to do.

He senses Rex nearby, but the clones are coming, and he needs to run.

**w**

Obi-Wan corners him on the end of a pipeline. Anakin has no idea if this is supposed to be real, or if he's doing a very good job making it look like it. It's raining out, lightning flashing in the sky, and he's soaking wet. They both are. He's at a dead end, though, until a ship or speeder passes by that he can hitch a ride on

"Anakin," his master says, approaching him.

"We need to find who's behind all this," Anakin blurts out in a rush, "I – I'm sorry, Master. I should've seen it. I don't –"

"I know," Obi-Wan interrupts, "Running will make you look guiltier, but I think it is the best chance we have at finding the killer."

Anakin nods the slightest bit, feeling just a touch relieved by it. Maybe he does know what he's doing. "If they're trying to frame me, maybe I can track them by running. I'll contact you if I find anything."

"It will be dangerous," Obi-Wan warns.

"I know," Anakin replies, "But you can count on me." It's not like they have any other choice. This is, probably, the very first time that Obi-Wan has actually counted on him, trusted him to do anything as dangerous as this alone. Rex would no doubt be worried by it, too, but... it's what they have to do. It's fine. He can do it. If nothing else, he'll do it for Obi-Wan. He needs his master to believe in him.

"May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan says.

"And with you," Anakin echoes.

He hears Fox and Rex approaching and jumps off the edge onto the ship passing below, air whipping around him as he falls.

There's his first successful, staged prison break, completely on his own. And successfully getting himself to a place where no one else can be hurt because of him. Multitasking is useful. For as long as he's up above, the killer will hurt more people because of him – it wasn't Anakin who killed those clones, but it still feels like his fault, in a sense.

He looks back up at Obi-Wan and Rex, standing together on the edge of the pipeline, his two best friends in the galaxy.

Maybe he does have everything he needs right here – everyone he knows he needs to make it through this war. He'll find a way to get back home, for them.

**w**

The Underworld is no doubt one of the worse places Anakin has been in his life. Not as bad as Tatooine, though. Nothing could compare to that. He's been here on numerous occasions, but none as unpleasant and lonely as this.

It's hard to stay hidden, but he manages.

Even if the police droids find him a few times. Even if Ventress jumps him.

He stays hidden successfully until he makes it to the warehouse.

Something blows up the moment he steps inside – either the killer is here, or they triggered some sort of trap set just for him.

Anakin stumbles back, coughing from the smoke. "Show yourself," he yells into the darkness, stepping inside. No doubt, police droids will be coming any moment, but he needs to find whoever first. He senses something dark, though it's well-shielded. He doesn't have long.

The one thing he has to say, is that whoever it is, they're remarkably good at staying hidden. They only exchange lightsaber blows a few times, and whoever the attacker is, they've stolen Ventress's lightsabers. It isn't her, though. They're way too short and use a very different style.

Whoever it is obviously knows they'd never be able to defeat Anakin on a one-on-one lightsaber duel, because they're using the Force and objects more than anything else, and even then, Anakin is far better. He'd have taken them down already if he weren't so worn out and caught off-guard. Anakin doesn't know this place. This person does.

The flames are spreading fast, and Anakin is about to run again when Wolffe catches up to him, stunning him before he has time to Force-jump onto the next floor of the warehouse.

So much for escaping?

**w**

The Council is decidedly unappreciative about the entire thing. Anakin has never seen Obi-Wan quite so... jittery before. It's weird, and it's freaking him out. "It's okay," Anakin tries, because this was more his failure than his master's, but it's still... hard to deal with.

He wants... doesn't know what he wants.

Just for this all to be over.

"There's nothing you could've done."

Obi-Wan sits beside him, squeezing his shoulder. He doesn't say anything. There's nothing to say.

Anakin is being put on trial for this and – he doesn't know how to explain to the Council what really happened. It sounds so insane. It sounds like he's lying and doesn't know how. If Anakin were trying to lie and cover this up, he'd be good at it. He's a good liar. He grew up on Tatooine. Knows how to make things believable. This is not.

He thought he could make this better by running, but that just made it worse. If – if someone got closer to finding the truth, he has no idea, but the evidence is probably all destroyed now.

"Padawan Skywalker, serious charges have been levied against you. How plead you?" Master Yoda says.

Anakin remembers the first time he stood in the center of the Council. He'd been terrified and lost and lonely, and that's how he feels now. "Not guilty, Master. I would never take the lives of the clones. Even Letta – might have been guilty of killing many, of bombing the Temple, but that's not the Jedi way."

She might deserve to die, but that's not a choice Anakin would ever make, or think of making. That's not who he is. That's not what he does.

"You were alone with Letta Turmond when she died. Can you explain this?" Master Windu demands. His gaze is sharp and accusing, and it makes Anakin feel... he doesn't know. Just wrong. Dirty. Guilty somehow, even if he isn't. Maybe he is, though. The Council hadn't wanted him. They thought he was dangerous. What if they're right?

"Someone Force-choked her," Anakin answers, looking away. He can't bring himself to meet their accusing looks. "I – I don't know who. I sensed something Dark, but it was elusive. I didn't realize what it meant."

"Which brings us to Ventress," the next question is, "Can you explain your association with her?"

"It wasn't really an association, even," Anakin objects, "She attacked me in the Underworld, attempting to turn me over for bounty. She's a bounty hunter now, apparently. I was able to convince her to help me."

"Help you do what, exactly?" Master Windu asks, "Did she help you acquire the nano droids which were used in the attack?"

They've already found him guilty, haven't they? The desperation burning in his chest is – will mean nothing. Not in the long run. That doesn't mean he'll stop trying. "I was able to track down the place, and she offered to take me there," he replies. They can think of that what they will. "I – I don't know what happened. It was a trap. I don't know if she was involved or not, but someone attacked me there with her lightsabers and mask."

"And yet, there is no report of the clones sighting anyone else on the scene," Master Mundi interjects.

He shouldn't even be surprised by that. "I – I don't know, but someone was there," Anakin insists, "Just like in the prison. I couldn't tell who it was. My senses are... clouded." He hates having to admit that, but it's the truth, and lying about it will look even worse.

"Clouded by the Dark Side, these things are, Padawan Skywalker," Master Yoda replies, "Dangerously clouded, but not just surrounding you, surrounding many things in these times."

He says it like he always does – in a tone that's meant to be gentle, and it is, but Anakin finds no comfort in it now.

"You've already reached a decision, haven't you?" Obi-Wan demands accusingly. Anakin can feel his rage – rage that he feels himself. "This meeting is merely formality."

He's not wrong, but now doesn't feel like the time to be so blunt.

His heart is hammering in his ears, and he can't – can't think. He's terrified.

"Reached a decision, we have," Yoda admits, "Though not in total agreement are we."

"It is the Council's opinion that Padawan Anakin Skywalker has committed sedition against the Republic, and thus, he will be expelled from the Jedi Order," Windu continues.

"You can't do this!" Obi-Wan yells from below, and Anakin hears lightsabers igniting – the Temple Guards must be holding him back from – from something.

"Your Padawan status will be stripped from you, and you shall forfeit all rank and privileges within the Grand Army of the Republic. You will be turned over to the Republic courts to await your trial and whatever punishment they will set for you. Henceforth, you are barred from the Jedi Order."

Anakin feels numb. Can't feel anything except a distant horror.

He's only felt like this twice in his life – once when he heard Qui-Gon died, and he lost the only person willing to take care of him, and a second time when he stood over the remnants of the ship at the Citadel, over the charred ground, staring at Echo's smoking helmet.

He remembers the explosion. The smoke. The blood. It was – Force, that is one thing he will never get out of his head.

They expelled him from the Order. It's like their refusal to train him all over, only Qui-Gon isn't here to promise to do whatever's right, to take care of him, even if the Council tries to stop him. And there is nothing Obi-Wan can do. And this time, it's after he always gave his life and so many of his friends, his brothers for the Order.

And now...

He has nothing.

Is nothing.

**w**

Obi-Wan shows up with Padme a while later. The cell is dark, and Anakin hasn't done anything except stare at the wall opposite him the entire time.

Has Rex heard? How do they feel about it? Do they believe it?

Obi-Wan pulls him into a hug, and Anakin buries his face on his shoulder, unmoving.

"I'll be representing you in the Senate," Padme says, sitting down on the bench beside him.

It fades in from a thousand miles away. "Do you think the Republic will help?" Anakin asks, and for the first time, he understands Kolara. Understands her wariness. He feels it, too. He doesn't want to die. Has never realized it quite so strongly, until right now.

"We have to try," Padme replies. She's steadfastly loyal, and Anakin doesn't understand it.

"What we need is to find whoever is really behind all this," Obi-Wan interjects, stepping back, "Anakin, you need to construct a solid defense, and I'll track down Ventress."

Anakin nods to it mindlessly. It's so cold. He's freezing.

He hears Obi-Wan leaving. Doesn't even think of it.

Padme touches his shoulder, her hand light and gentle. "I'll need you to go over everything that happened with me," she requests, "Start from the beginning."

He's not in the mindset to talk, but they don't have long. Anakin remembers a time when he felt out of place in the Order. He still does, but that's the only life he's ever wanted. All he's ever had. How is he supposed to be anything else? "How long do we have?"

"The trial was rushed," Padme answers, "Everything else is being held off. The public is in an uproar. So is the Senate. It's not looking good, but there must be something we can work with."

It's so cold in here. He doesn't remember it being this cold earlier.

Anakin's role is to be optimistic, to look out for everyone under his command, but just this once, he can't even find it in himself. "Do you believe it will help?" It's a genuine, desperate question, but he knows the answer. Padme wouldn't've come if she didn't believe in him still, and she always believes in the Republic. Always has.

Anakin used to. Still does, but after the Council... he doesn't know.

They said he was dangerous. Were they right somehow? Is he? Obi-Wan didn't think so, but what if he was wrong? What if... everyone was?

"I'm almost certain," Padme promises, "If we can find the right argument."

**w**

The trial... is the trial. Be nice if it actually was one. Just like he thought, it was the same case as the Council. Everyone has turned their backs on him. The government has. The same way they did with Kolara.

He fought for the Republic. Spent years laying down his life for it. He led so many of his brothers into war to their deaths, because this is what Anakin believed in.

Maybe it was wrong.

Maybe... there isn't anything left to fight for.

He's probably just being pessimistic now, and that's supposed to be Obi-Wan's role – he's the realist, and Anakin plunges into anything and everything in the blind trust the Force will protect him and hope everyone will make it out the other end. Which. They did. This time. But he easily might not have.

What somehow hurts just as much is that it was Barriss setting him up. She insists she acted alone, though Anakin has his doubts. She's fifteen. He can't imagine she could've pulled this entire thing off, start to finish, on her own.

Barriss is angry at the Republic for all the reasons so many are, even for why Anakin is – the Council isn't following the Code the way they once did, the way they're supposed to. So many things are changing because of the war. It's destroying what they fight for, and – Anakin is never going to stop fighting for what he believes in. He knows many people won't, but there's just so few.

Obi-Wan pulls him aside before they take him back to the Temple.

Anakin doesn't know how to process this. So much has happened today. The expulsion, the trial, the... everything. It's too much, and he just can't...

The Council expelled him without looking into it, and if the Senate demanded it, Anakin can understand. Sort of. He doesn't hold it against them. He's not angry. He's just hurt.

He's not that important to them. Qui-Gon is the only one who believed him to be the Chosen One. He and Obi-Wan. Never anyone else.

"What do you want to do now?" Obi-Wan queries. Anakin blinks at him, a little confused, not quite following.

"Why?" he asks, and it's not the best worded question, but he's just confused. "I mean – what..." Stars, he's a commander, and he still can't string a sentence together.

"I knew the Council was falling," Obi-Wan replies, "But after what they did to you, I can't expect them to take care of us. Of you."

Anakin shakes his head, not really looking at him or anything. "I don't know. I need some time to – to think for a little while." That's probably bad. "I want to fight for the Republic and the boys need me, but I don't know if I can –" He's rambling now, panicking – why is he always panicking – and Obi-Wan's hands are on his shoulders, trying to ground him.

He doesn't trust anybody anymore.

Not even himself.

He's never really trusted himself, but he's had to try, because people need him. Everybody needs him. But what if he... is dangerous? How many people died because of him? He could've talked to Barriss. Should have noticed. He could have stopped her.

"Anakin," he says firmly, the tone prompting Anakin to look up at him for the first time. "I don't want you on the fronts."

Anakin blinks at him. "What? Why?"

"It's dangerous," Obi-Wan replies, "And I couldn't protect my own master. How could I protect you?"

"I'm not going to die, Master."

"You almost did. And there would have been nothing I could do to stop the Republic. It's what we fought for, and they turned on you."

Anakin values loyalty more than almost anything else. He knows why Obi-Wan is so angry, but he's... he doesn't feel things the same. It's hard to feel anything other than a gaping emptiness. "You can't –" he starts, and Obi-Wan cuts him off.

"Don't," he says, firmly, "Qui-Gon told me to protect you, and that's what I'll do, even if I don't like what it means."

He sounds angry, and Anakin looks away, freezing up the way he always does. Obi-Wan won't hit him. He never has. Never would, and Anakin hates himself for being afraid of it. He can't move. Can't breathe.

Obi-Wan lifts his hand to lightly touch his cheek. Anakin leans into it, but he still doesn't look at him. Doesn't know if he should. "Anakin, I'm asking you to leave."

"Leave?" Anakin breathes.

"The Order. The war. All of it."

He's shaking his head before Obi-Wan is even done talking. "I can't."

"You can," Obi-Wan replies, "You must. You shouldn't have to fight in a war. Not like you have."

"It's all we have. It's all I have – don't ask me to do this –"

"We don't have a choice," Obi-Wan repeats, "I can't trust the Council with you. I can't trust the Republic, either."

It reminds him of when his mother told him he had to leave Tatooine. It had hurt, but Anakin knew it's what he had to do.

"I can't," Anakin whispers again, tears burning his eyes. He can't leave Obi-Wan and Rex. The Order is the only life he's ever had.

"You're stronger than you think," he says, "I know you can do this."

Not that he has much choice.

Anakin leans into Obi-Wan's touch, wrapping his arms around his master's waist, clinging to him. He doesn't want to leave, but he doesn't know if he can just come back into the Order, either. Not – not yet.

But still. This is where he's needed. He'd do it anyway if Obi-Wan hadn't told him to leave. Maybe this will lead him somewhere else, to... a different place that he's needed.

**w**

"Back into the Order, you may come," Master Yoda says.

The Council chambers are dim with the light of the sun setting over Coruscant. It's foreboding, and Anakin knows it's just as metaphorical as physical. The sun is setting over this part of his life, and he has no idea where he'll go from here. The only thing Anakin has ever been is a Jedi, and that's what he wanted to be, even back on Tatooine.

How is he supposed to do this?

But... Obi-Wan asked him to, and Anakin can't refuse, no matter how he feels about it. This is no doubt the most terrifying thing he's ever done. "I'm sorry," Anakin answers, and he's amazed at how level he keeps his voice, considering the tumultuous emotions tearing him apart. "But I'm not coming back."

He doesn't dare look at Obi-Wan right now, though he senses his master calm a little. Like he was worried Anakin would refuse at the last minute.

"Certain of your decision, are you?"

"It's clear to me there are other places I am needed, that I can help," Anakin answers, and of all of this, he's most certain about that. He's needed in another place, somewhere far from here. Far away from the Order and the war, no matter how badly it hurts to leave.

Obi-Wan steps up to him, extending Anakin's lightsaber. "Even if you are no longer a Jedi, this weapon is yours," he explains.

Anakin takes a step back, shaking his head. "That's the weapon of a Jedi, which I'm not anymore." He should take it, but he... can't. He needs to learn to trust the Force. Not weapons. Not himself.

Obi-Wan looks disappointed, but Anakin doesn't take time to overthink that lest he starts second guessing all of this. He just needs to go, if that's what he's going to do, before it sinks in what he's doing.

Anakin turns away, walking through the massive doors of the Council chambers. They slide shut behind him.

Anakin sinks onto the Temple steps, watching the sun set. This is the only place he's ever known. It isn't home. That was always his mother, but either way, now he has... nothing. He is nothing.

He's not a Jedi. He's not Obi-Wan's padawan. He's not Rex's Commander.

So, who in the galaxy is he?

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